Bringing it all together

Transport is an extremely complex area of public policy, with a large number of stakeholders including local and national Government, transport operators, support companies and campaigners and passenger groups. We work to view transport in the round and research solutions that provide integrated transport so communities have affordable transport that improve quality of life and protect the environment.

A great train service is only one part of making public transport work; the station must be easily accessible by sustainable transport to prevent local transport issues. Our Fixing the Link report, sponsored by Abellio, looks at the walking routes between town centres and rail stations in three UK towns and compares them to similar towns in the Netherlands. We use a methodology developed by Dutch Railways and suggest how it might be implemented across the UK.

If public transport is to be a real and attractive alternative to cars, it needs to offer the same kind of door-to-door service that cars do. Our 2011 research looks at how public transport might be better integrated to get more people out of their cars.

We have come together with Cubic, Telefonica and Thales to create a new forum setting out the benefit of smart technology for passengers, policy-makers and suggesting how the Government can encourage smarter travel through better regulation, contracts and investment.

In 2013 we looked what problems football fans have getting to matches without the car, with a survey of more than 1,000 fans. We also looked at examples from other countries – such as the well-known German system where a match ticket will get you to the game for free on public transport over a wide area – and at what stadiums learned from being venues during the 2012 Olympics. Our recommendations show that a lot can be done to make getting from door to turnstile easier.

Good planning is needed to support sustainable transport. In 2008 we published a Masterplanning Checklist to help those planning new developments make sure residents don't need to rely on cars to get around.